escalate
verb
es·ca·late
ˈe-skə-ˌlāt 
nonstandard
-skyə-
escalated; escalating
: to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope
… a little war threatens to escalate into a huge ugly one …—
Mike Mansfield
Mike MansfieldExamples of escalate in a Sentence
The conflict has escalated into an all-out war.
a time of escalating tensions
We are trying not to escalate the violence.
Salaries of leading executives have continued to escalate.
The cold weather has escalated fuel prices.
Recent Examples on the Web
Both players who received red cards this season, Ary Borges and Kayla Fischer, were starters, and in each case, the league escalated its disciplinary decision because of the severity of the incidents.
—Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Dockworkers at Bangladesh’s Chattogram Port escalated a strike Saturday in protest of the interim government’s plans to lease terminal operating licenses to foreign companies.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
Surveillance footage from inside the Domino’s shows pandemonium — customers wearing Halloween accessories, people standing on tables and chairs and others recording on their phones as tensions escalated.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Historical police data shows arguments or fights escalating was a factor in about 29% of all homicides in the city since 2020.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for escalate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
Dockworkers at Bangladesh’s Chattogram Port escalated a strike Saturday in protest of the interim government’s plans to lease terminal operating licenses to foreign companies.
—Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
Surveillance footage from inside the Domino’s shows pandemonium — customers wearing Halloween accessories, people standing on tables and chairs and others recording on their phones as tensions escalated.
—Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2025
Historical police data shows arguments or fights escalating was a factor in about 29% of all homicides in the city since 2020.
—Kelli Arseneau, jsonline.com, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for escalate
Cite this Entry
“Escalate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/escalate. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
escalate
verb
es·ca·late
ˈes-kə-ˌlāt
escalated; escalating
: to increase in extent, volume, or scope : expand
escalate prices
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share